JUNE 30, 2026 — The U.S. Navy has significantly enhanced the warfighting capability of its destroyer fleet with the completion of major modernizations on the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95). These upgrades deliver revolutionary defensive and offensive power within an Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) environment.
The destroyers completed their Depot Modernization Periods (DMPs) as part of the DDG Modernization 2.0 program, which focuses on vital mid-life capability enhancements. This includes an integrated SLQ-32(V)7 Electronic Warfare suite that provides a critical advantage in the modern maritime environment.
“This destroyer modernization effort is the cornerstone of increasing service life and delivering decisive combat power to the US Navy via our Flight IIA destroyers,” said Capt. Tim Moore, program manager, Destroyer Modernization 2.0 (DDG MOD 2.0). “We focused on opportunities to shift milestones supporting acquisition, planning and execution left to provide these game-changing capabilities to the operators sooner. The DDG MOD 2.0 program remains a top priority as the Navy continues to build and sustain a lethal, resilient, and rapidly adaptable force.”
The DMPs involved extensive structural work and integration between Navy personnel and industry partners.
The delivery of DDG-93 and DDG-95 was accomplished through strong collaboration with lead maintenance activity partners at General Dynamics NASSCO and the Navy supervisory activities at Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) and Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC), and installation teams throughout government and industry groups.
“The teamwork, technical expertise, and disciplined execution demonstrated by MARMC, SWRMC and our industry partners were essential to delivering these advanced capabilities to the Fleet. Their efforts ensure our Sailors have more capable, combat-ready ships prepared to operate in an increasingly challenging maritime environment,” said Rear Adm. Dan Lannamann, commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Center who oversees the Navy’s seven RMCs.
Building from the program’s first comparable modernization package installed aboard USS Pinckney (DDG 91), both waterfront teams demonstrated continuous learning.
The Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for Maritime is the single accountable organization for delivering surface ships for the U.S. Navy. This new centralized organizational construct will empower leaders with broader scope and greater authority to accelerate delivery of combat capability and ensure acquisition speed and discipline are driven by what the warfighter needs—when they need it.
MARMC and SWRMC are field activities under PAE Industrial Operations, providing surface ship maintenance, oversight of private-sector repair work and fleet technical assistance to ships.